1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of devices for use in connection with phonograph records, and more specifically, to a device for providing a phonograph record with a cleaned, conditioned, and static-free playing surface.
2. Prior Art
The advancements made in today's high fidelity phonograph systems have brought sound reproduction to an extremely high level. However, because such systems are of such quality and accuracy, should the grooves of a typical record contain even minor amounts of dirt, either in the form of particles of dust, smoke, and/or other undesirable material, the presence of such material can be picked up by the phonograph stylus, magnified, and heard through the speakers. Further, modern records are very susceptible to static electricity which causes dust and dirt to adhere to the surface thereof. Moreover, because modern records have highly polished surfaces and, for a variety of other reasons, are now able to carry much more information, the need to keep the surfaces of such records extremely clean is even more compelling.
While the problems caused by dirt in the grooves of phonograph records have been recognized in the industry for some time, the means to effectively remove dirt from the relatively fragile surface of the record has been elusive. However, recently there has been a proliferation of devices which have attempted to remove the undesireable material from the grooves of the record. In these devices, various cleaning brushes, both with and without cleaning solutions, are used to clean the phonograph record. One such device is marketed under the name "Vac-O-Rec". This device removes dust from the phonograph record by applying a vacuum brush system to the surface thereof.
Another record cleaning device is sold by the Discwasher Company. In the Discwasher device, a brush is used with about three drops of a cleaning fluid. The fluid is applied both to the surface of the stylus, as well as to a brush which can be swept back and forth across the phonograph record. Yet another device is sold under the name "Lenco-Clean Systems" which contains an arm with a storage reservoir attached to the stylus and applied to the record via a small plastic brush.
While all of the above devices do tend to clean the record somewhat, it has been found that they all contain a number of shortcomings. For example, many of the above-referenced devices are extremely complexed to mount onto the stylus and/or stylus arm, and can otherwise interfere with the travel of the record on the record player. Further, it has been determined that there are three basic problems to be considered in the care and handling of phonograph records. These include cleaning the record for better sound reproduction in which the above-identified devices tend to perform satisfactorily. It is also necessary that the record be conditioned such that less wear of the stylus on the record grooves is achieved. Conditioning of the record usually requires that a liquid composition be applied. While some of the above-identified devices condition the records, they do so at the expense of proper cleaning of the grooves. Thirdly, the phonograph record should be rendered substantially static-free so as to eliminate the buildup of dust which is attracted by static electricity to the surface thereof. Again, while some of the above devices do tend to render the surface of a record static-free, they do so at the expense of proper cleaning and/or conditioning.
The present invention overcomes the problems associated with the prior art devices and provides a device that not only cleans the record, but also conditions it and renders it substantially static-free. Further, the device of the present invention is relatively simple to produce, easy to use, and contains none of the complexities associated with the prior art devices.